Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker

Lore & Background

Endwalker is the finale of the Hydaelyn-Zodiark arc, a story that began with A Realm Reborn. Players travel the world, space, and time to stop the Garlean crown prince Zenos and rogue Ascian Fandaniel from resuming the Final Days, an apocalyptic event threatening all existence. The expansion increases the level cap to 90 and introduces the Sage and Reaper jobs. The Sage is a healer using nouliths inspired by Gundam Funnels, while the Reaper is a scythe-wielding melee fighter calling on a void avatar.

Reader's Guide

Endwalker received acclaim, particularly for its satisfying conclusion to the storyline begun in A Realm Reborn. The expansion included a numeric down-scaling to prevent overflow errors, removing belts as equipment. New content includes the Myths of the Realm 24-player raid series and the Pandæmonium 8-player raid series. The Island Sanctuary system, a farming simulation mode focused on 'slow life,' debuted in patch 6.2. Player housing was expanded with the Empyreum area in Ishgard and a lottery-based acquisition system. The World Visit system was expanded to allow travel to other data centers in the same region, and data centers were added for Oceania. The PvP system was overhauled with streamlined abilities and the new Crystalline Conflict mode, while the Feast mode was discontinued. The Trust system was expanded to include Estinien and later allowed solo play through A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, and Stormblood dungeons.

Did You Know?

• Endwalker was released over two years after Shadowbringers, with production delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The expansion introduced a numeric down-scaling, colloquially called a 'stat squish', which removed belts as equipment.
• The Sage job uses nouliths inspired by Funnels from the Gundam franchise.
• The Island Sanctuary system, added in patch 6.2, is a farming simulation mode intended as a relaxing solo pursuit.